Amid The Ruins - SYOC
by Llama II
Summary: When a young survivor and his family, working to survive a deadly outbreak, arrive at a mysterious refugee camp, their lives are changed forever. This is a SYOC, which means that you can create your own character for me to add into the story! SUBMISSION IS ALWAYS OPEN, but those who will be introduced in the first few chapters are now officially filled.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys, super excited to begin my first fanfiction, Amid The Ruins! In case you haven't figured it out yet, this is a character-submission fic. You create the character using the template I give you at the end of this introduction chapter, and I'll add them into the story! You can submit them anytime, no matter how far along we are in the story. However, there are a few rules to go over:

-If there is too large of a cast when you submit your character, I may need to wait until we have more room to add them in. I won't add a character until it makes since according to the current storyline.

-Given that each chapter will be relatively short for the sake of making it less burdensome to write, and so that I can upload more often, not every character will get their own storyline immediately. They will be given attention, but you need to be patient.

-The original group will be comprised of 10-12 submissions, after that, any further character submissions will have to wait until a later time.

-I approve, and even highly recommend, families rather than a single character submission. It's entirely unrealistic to have so many diverse people in a group together without any of them having surviving family.

-I ask that if you have a character participating in the story, that you at least do your best to review each chapter. Reviews give me motivation! Even a simple 1-10 rating is good.

-Give your character some flaws-a boring, invincible badass with no flaws makes for a tiring character that I'll likely have a chore writing. I enjoy flawed, deep characters.

-No character is guaranteed a lifespan of any length. If your character dies, you're free to submit another. However, any petty complaints as the result of a character death will be ignored. The death toll in this series will be very high, as is appropriate for a dangerous world like the Walking Dead, especially with such a large cast. And believe me, not every death is gonna be pretty. I doubt this will be an issue, so long as everyone is mature enough.

-No canon or canon-based characters. This is an entirely original storyline.

-No overpowered or unrealistic weaponry. If I think something is senseless, I won't hesitate to change the character to be more suitable to a grounded series such as this.

-If you have any suggestions or comments for your character or the way I'm writing them, don't hesitate to give me a PM! Feedback is always welcome.

Without further adieu...

* * *

Skylar's thick brown hair blew gently in the wind, as he absentmindedly stared out the car window. He had always loved the feeling of wind in his hair. The wind caused his dark blue eyes to squint, enjoying the scenery. Barely hanging above the landscape, the sun was glowing a hazy orange, casting a bright, misty light on the trees sidelining the road they were driving on. Given the circumstances, it didn't quite seem right that everything could look so beautiful. They were running out of food, not to mention gas. As much as his dad promised that they'd be okay, things were getting more grim with every passing day. Getting lost in thought seemed to get more and more common for him nowadays.

"Hey, Skye," said his dad from the driver's seat, breaking him from his trance, "looks like there's a rest stop about five miles up the road. We'll stop there."

"Mhm." Skye nodded, glancing over at Pfiefer. As expected, his sister was sleeping quietly across from him, her sleep-frayed jet black hair obscuring her face. "You think it's safe?"

"'Bout as safe as anywhere nowadays."

He turned his attention back to the window, staring out at the forest. They'd been driving along back roads for over a day, but still hadn't run into any supplies. They passed a few towns, but weren't able to find much. The cities were even worse. That's where the biters were most difficult to avoid. Big cities meant big risks, and his dad was being careful. However, it was only a matter of time before they got desperate enough to try and search a big city again. The last time he'd tried, he almost wound up dead. After that, dad stopped allowing him to help on supply runs, and the same went for Pfiefer, no matter how much they protested.

However, before he could once again lose himself in thought, a loud noise suddenly startled him. It was a loud bang, almost like a pop. Suddenly, the car was swerving, jolting his sister awake. His dad struggled to keep it in check, slamming the breaks and sending Skye's face into the back of the passenger seat. The car skidded to a stop, sliding along the road with a piercing noise.

Finally, they were stopped, having nearly gone over the side of the road. A brief moment of silence, permeated by heavy breathing ensued.

"Everyone okay?" Skye's dad asked, turning back to his children.

"I...think so..." Pfiefer replied, still visibly shaken, "what happened?"

"We must've ran over something," he replied, "tire popped, I think. Skye, you wanna give me a hand with putting in the spare?"

Nodding, Skylar stepped out of the car with his father. After a brief inspection, they found the culprit. About fourty feet back lay a small plaque of serrated nails facing upwards on the street. It certainly didn't look like an accidental contraption.

"Who the hell put that there?" Skye asked, inspecting the plank.

"Probably a trap set up by looters, if I had to guess."

"Think whoever set it is in the area?"

"Let's not stick around to find out."

With that, the two got to work changing out the tire with a spare. Luckily, only the front right tire was popped. He'd learned long ago how to change them, and today was no different.

* * *

"Skye, you finish this up for me, okay?" Suggested his dad a few minutes later, handing the tool over to his son. "I'm gonna check the map real quick."

"Will do."

His dad retreated into the car, opening the glove compartment. Doubling his efforts, Skye worked to tighten the last remaining bolts on the tire. Before long, he had once again found himself thinking deeply. There was certainly a lot to think about nowadays. He found himself thinking about his mom a lot since the outbreak. He figured after so long without her, he would finally stop thinking so much about her, but time didn't seem to help much. If anything, the memories plagued him now more than ever.

A few moments before he was finished with the tire, he heard his dad approaching from behind. His footsteps were slower than usual for some reason.

"Almost done," he said, "give me just a second."

No response.

"Dad?" He added, turning around.

Suddenly, he jumped to his feet, stumbling backwards. Instead of his dad stood a large biter, growling and snarling as it swung an arm out at him.

"Shit!" He exclaimed, knocking on the car door to signal his dad. The biter must've come from the woods without him noticing.

Pulling out his gun, he leveled it up at the corpse in front of him. However, when he went to pull the trigger, he hesitated. He'd never killed one of them before. Why was it so difficult, after everything they'd taken from him, to put aside his fears and kill one of them? Perhaps it was the eerie, ghostly look in the biter's eyes as it stumbled towards him. Maybe it was the towering stature of it, probably around the same size as his dad. Maybe he was just weak.

After a moment of backing away from the biter, his dad had emerged from the car, gun drawn. Pfiefer soon followed, staying back.

"Skylar," he yelled, "get back!"

He shuffled backward, giving his dad room to dispatch the biter with his pistol. The gunshot was deafening, causing him to cover his ears. The corpse fell to the ground, dead for good this time. Its head was nearly blown completely off, brain matter and blood staining the road in front of him. He relaxed for just a moment, trying to catch his breath.

"Skylar, look out!" Screamed Pfiefer, pointing behind him.

Suddenly, something grabbed a hold of his arm from behind. Yelling out, he jerked around to find another biter, who had now emerged from the forest, drawn by the noise.

"Dad!" he yelled, unable to break its grip on him as it tried to force its teeth towards him. His hand was now the only thing keeping it from tearing into his face, as he tried to push it away by the neck.

"I can't get a clear shot!"

Terror shone on his face as he looked over at his dad. He couldn't hold its teeth back much longer. After a moment's hesitation, his father fired his gun. The first and second shots missed, but the third hit its chest, sending it to the floor. From there, his dad finished it with a shot to the head. It all happened so fast.

Relieved, he took a step towards his dad to give him a hug, but suddenly, his leg gave out from underneath him. He fell to the floor, screaming in pain.

"Skye," Pfiefer exclaimed, running over to him, "what's wrong?"

"My...my leg..." He replied, looking down. The adrenaline must've stopped him from feeling it before. A large, rapidly bleeding wound on his thigh caught his attention. _He'd been shot_. After a few moments, his vision began to blur as he started to feel lightheaded and distant. The pain was beyond excruciating, and his screams became more intense when his dad tried to put pressure on the wound.

"Skylar," he heard his dad say, almost sounding far away, "oh my God...I didn't mean to-...stay with me, okay? I need you to stay awa..."

Everything went black.

* * *

Well guys, I hope you liked that little introduction/prequel! Here's the template for creating a character. Please fill it out and PM it to me if you'd like to create a character for the story. I need:

1\. Name(first, middle, last)

2\. Gender.

3\. Appearance(BE DETAILED, the less you put the more I'll have to make up myself)(be sure to include their age)

4\. Personality(a paragraph would be great, be very detailed)

5\. Family/Friends(in case you'd like to submit several characters as a family or group)

6\. Brief description of Family/Friends(if applicable)

7\. History/Backstory(NOTICE - All characters will begin in the same group in our first chapter, so their history must eventually correlate to having ended up at the refugee camp in which we will begin our story)

8\. What they like in a person.

9\. Sexuality.

10\. Flaws.

11\. Strengths.

12\. Weaponry & Skills(not necessarily just combat experience, but also other things that would be useful. I will not accept your character if they are overtly badass. We don't need any Daryls here)

13\. Suggestions(what you'd like to see me do with the character, how you'd like to see them develop, ect. Not necessarily going to happen, but I still value your ideas)

Feel free to add any additional info.


	2. Slow Days

**Author's Note:**

Hello my beautiful crias(baby Llamas), super excited to finally publish the first chapter of Amid The Ruins! Just a brief side note-Not every character submitted to me will have a major role in this chapter. I assure you, however, they will have their time to shine. Each chapter will be focused on a few select characters.

Also, let me know if any typos escaped my grasp.

* * *

Riley took a quick look around him, before kneeling down by the creek to start filling canteens. He rarely left the camp, given that people relied on him to make decisions, but sometimes he just needed time alone. Thus, when there was an opportunity from time to time for him to volunteer to go off to the creek to get water for boiling, he always volunteered. Who could blame him? It's not like it was _his_ choice being shoved into a leadership position. Once the soldiers protecting the refugee camp deserted, he was the only one left besides Liam who had a clue about firing a gun or defending themselves. And so, the others put him on a pedastal because they didn't want it themselves. Who would? None of them had the slightest idea what they were doing. Sure, they had fences, water, and a reasonably consistent supply of food, but there was an unspoken dread in the camp that seemed to grow every day. No one dared say it, but people were terrified. It had been around two months since everything began, and there was still no sign of government intervention. In fact, things had only gotten worse.

Once he finished filling up around twenty bottles, he began packing them into his hiking pack. He wasn't in any hurry. Taking a handful of water, he splashed it over his face. The refrshing, frigid water helped get rid of some of the dust on his face, the cold shock giving him a sense of clarity. Despite everything that had happened, it was nice being able to take a simple walk in the woods. To breathe fresh air and feel the crunch of leaves under his feet without metal fences protecting him from death. Hikes had always been his thing as a kid. Whether it was a trek in the mountains, or just a bike ride through his neighborhood, he loved the outdoors. His dad seemed to have rubbed off on him. He'd always appreciated beautiful landscapes, bright days, and forests. Nowadays it seemed to get harder and harder to see the beauty in things.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. He didn't even need to turn around. That familiar moaning, accompanied by dragging footsteps told him everything he needed to know. Turning around, he saw a relatively short woman with frayed blonde hair, and glossed over eyes that obscured what was once probably a shade of blue, not unlike his sister's. Her hair seemed to be graying, although with all the dirt and muck it was difficult to tell. A mutant, as most of the people in his group liked to call them. Just about everyone had a different name for them.

Equipping his machete, he stepped forward, allowing it to draw closer. As soon as it stepped within arms reach, he shot to the side, kicking its foot out from under it and sending it to the ground. From there, he hacked into its head until it finally stopped moving. After a moment of pulling, he freed the blade from its skull, staining the leaves with thick, dark blood. Just as he began to walk away, he noticed something on one of her fingers. There on her ring finger, was a wedding ring.

* * *

John found himself rather bored, an odd sensation given the circumstances. While the fences provided them with safety, they sometimes felt like a prison to him. It wasn't as if there was much to do around camp. He enjoyed playing chess with Hank on occasion, but that got tiring after a while. There weren't all that many people he could relate to. It seemed like taking naps and worrying was all people in the camp did. However, before he could become too thoughtful, a head poked through his tent. Familiar golden-brown eyes shone at him.

"Hey," Gia said, brushing a strand of black hair from her face, "wanna give me a hand with dinner?"

"Sure," he replied, "I could use something to do."

"Couldn't we all?"

Before long, the two were helping organize the large collection of ramen noodle packages into something that could feed the whole camp for the night. They had to be careful not to use too much, especially given that they hadn't had a supply run in nearly a week. Less and less people were willing to risk themselves, especially after the incident three weeks back. However, they also had to be careful not to give people too little. The hierarchy at the camp was very ill-defined, and they could have a lot of anger if people didn't get enough. The last thing they needed was friction in the camp.

"We're gonna need more alchohol gas for the stoves." He said, noting that of the four canisters for each of their gas stoves, only one was mostly full.

"Riley says he'll be organizing a supply run tomorrow," Gia replied, " _we'll be alright_."

Gia had a habit of optimism. He never really understood her all that much. Cheerfulness wasn't a common quality nowadays.

Before long, they had begun boiling each package individually on each of the gas stoves, doing their best to manage all four of them at once. It usually took around eighteen packages to feed everyone, and that was quite a bit of food given its rarity. Riley had made the call to shorten their meals to only twice a day a few weeks back, and even then, there were times when they had to divide it up further. Those were always the worst days. Every so often, someone would snap, and they'd find an empty tent and a good portion of their supplies gone with them. It wasn't as if they could stop them, or even blame them.

"You really think the government's gonna work things out?" He asked conversationally as they waited for the second batch of ramen to boil. The sun had begun to set, and dinnertime would be soon.

"Yeah, I do. That's how things have always been in the past, right?" She replied.

"Maybe...it's been two months."

"Things will get better, one way or another. That's just how stuff goes."

"I hope you're right."

* * *

"Hey, Cio, could you let me in? I brought enough water to last us at least until tomorrow."

Ignacio jogged over to the gate, unlocking it for Riley. He'd been absentmindely wandering for the past five minutes, as he tended to do when slow days like this one came around. It was unusual for so few mutants to be around the fences, but he welcomed the ability to let Riley in and out without having to worry about them.

"Thanks," Riley greeted, walking inside and locking it again with the chain, "has Gia started on dinner yet? It's her turn, right?"

"Yeah, she's on it." He replied, walking alongside towards the center of the camp.

"Good, we're gonna need to go out into the city again tomorrow...supplies are running low."

"You know I'm always down for a little adventure." A small half-smile made its way onto Riley's face.

"Let's hope the others are."

* * *

Jade found herself making much more noise than she was willing to admit, as she and the others sat around the night fire eating. Eating had always been her favorite part of the day. The sun had now completely set, and she enjoyed the quiet nighttime brought with it. Even before the outbreak, she had always been a night owl. It was oddly peaceful, sitting with the others by the fire, even though the smoke sometimes shifted into her eyes when the wind changed directions.

However, the peaceful silence was quickly shattered by a yell.

"Hey," a man's voice yelled from around the front gate, "is anyone here?!"

Everyone shot up from their seats, running toards the gate as Riley led the way. An older man, probably in his fifties, was standing by the front gate, a teenage girl by his side. His hairline had largely receded, but was still a graying brown that must've looked more youthful in his earlier years. His panic-stricken eyes were a dark brown, the same as the girl next to him. His daughter, probably. His face was chiseled but aging, large crinkles on his eyes standing out. His cheeks were prominent, flushed red from adrenaline. He was carrying a kid, probably no older than seventeen, in his arms. Blood was stained all over his shirt, and it didn't look to be his. The kid was out cold, maybe even dead. The girl looked terrified, the same panic evident on the man's face.

"Who are you?" Questioned Riley before opening.

"Please," the man replied, "just open up! _My son's been shot!_ "

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, more to come soon! Please remember to give it a review, especially if you've submitted a character for the series! Even a simple 1-10 rating helps.

==Character Credits==

Ignacio Moreno / Created by Wolfie McCoy

-Mariano Moreno

Jade Smith / Created by Zayngel22

John Curlmen / Created by RainGain

Riley Hall / Created by GrabbageTheImmortalChinchilla

Geovanni "Gia" Polanski / Created by thedaffodilqueen

Skylar Ranoss / Created by Me

-Darren Ranoss

-Pfiefer Ranoss

NOTE: Not all of the main POV characters appear in every chapter, including this one, for the sake of avoiding overcrowding. Don't worry, they'll have their time.


	3. Newcomers

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys, happy to bring you all the second chapter of the series! I'm having a blast writing these characters, and I have big plans for all of them. I have a pretty good idea of where I'm going with the story from here, and things are going to be picking up speed. It's never too late to submit a character! Of course, I'll have to give some time before they come into the story, but if you've been wanting to make a character of your own then give it a shot!

EDIT: Keep in mind, there are some characters that are members of the original group that do not appear in this chapter, due to the fact that I began writing it before those characters were submitted. I probably tried to slip them in somewhere, but it's difficult to add in characters once a chapter's already written. Don't worry, they'll be around by the next one. The best characters are often the ones introduced a little bit later than others.

* * *

Skylar slowly opened his eyes, beginning to sit up. A sudden pain in his leg made him abort the effort, wincing in unexpected pain. It all came back to him-the blown-out tire, the biters, being shot-everything. He found himself in a panic, unsure of his surroundings. Where was his family? His leg was bandaged and elevated on a pillow, a throbbing pain still resounding through the entire limb.

"H-hello?" He called out loudly.

Footsteps resounded outside, coming closer. A moment later, a head popped into the tent. It was a young man with light-brown, twinkling eyes. His blonde hair was grown just beyond a buzz cut, complete with a light chin beard. His face was red and friendly, his jaw sharp.

"Oh good," the man said, "you're awake."

"Who are you?"

"Name's Liam." The man said with a smile, extending his hand. "... _I don't bite_."

After a lengthy pause, Skylar cautiously shook his hand, eyebrows reflecting his skepticism. Suddenly, he jolted minutely.

"My dad and sister? Are they here? Where are they?!"

"Calm down, they're fine. You're at a refugee camp just south of Hapsburn, everyone's having breakfast right now. You'll see them soon."

Skye sat back, still trying to process things.

"So, you people fixed up my leg?"

"Yeah," Liam replied, "me, for the most part. You're lucky the bullet didn't hit an artery. You should make a full recovery, but it's gonna take time."

"You some sort of doctor?"

"Army medic, actually. Nowadays it's close enough."

Awkward silence fell for a few seconds.

"So..." Skye asked, "this camp-how many people live here?"

"Around thirty, give or take."

Before he could ask any more questions, Liam spoke up again.

"By the way," Liam asked, "I never did get your name."

"Skylar. Uh, Skylar Ranoss."

* * *

Heng-Lee sat side-by-side with Cio as the two washed dishes together, finding the silence between the two to be rather uncomfortable. They rarely ever interacted with each other at camp, but they just so happened to be assigned to the same boring job. Then again, given all the recent intensity around camp the past day, it was nice to have some peace and quiet. Back when he was younger, he always needed to be around people, he hated silence. Strangely enough, all he seemed to want nowadays was to be in solitude.

"So," he began, trying to start a little conversation while still avoiding awkward eye contact, "what do you think of the newcomers?"

"They seem harmless enough," Cio replied, "then again, it's not too easy to tell nowadays."

"Isn't that the truth."

Heng-Lee glanced over to two of the newcomers, Darren and Pfiefer, as they talked by one of the tents.

* * *

Logan tried his best to adjust his deep voice to add excitement to the story, as he read Rose a novel he'd found on the last supply run. He always worked to find something to bring back for her whenever he left on a run, and she never ceased to squeal with excitement when he brought back books. She loved being read to, even though she was old enough to read to herself, to a degree. Reading to her had been a tradition for Logan, even before the outbreak. She was his responsibility, just like she'd always been. Sometimes he felt like she and Liam were the only things keeping him sane.

Regardless of all the shit that had happened, Rose was still as cheerful and imaginative as ever, and he loved that. He wanted to keep it that way, as long as he could. Maybe he was sheltering her, but who could really blame him? Unfortunately, he knew things wouldn't be like this forever. Everyone at the camp pretended that things were fine, masking their fear and worry with cheerful attitudes and casual conversation, but he and Liam had seen how bad things were outside the fences. It was only a matter of time, he believed, and he intended to be ready when things fell apart. As long as she and Liam were safe, he could make it through this.

"Logan?" Rose asked, her concentration on the book breaking suddenly.

"Yeah?" Logan replied, setting down the novel with his thumb saving his place.

"Where's Liam? I want him to hear the story too."

"He'll be here soon, he's helping some new people out."

"There's new people at the camp? When can I meet them? Are they nice? What're-"

"Settle down, you'll meet them soon." He cut her off with a chuckle. "They seem nice."

"Why do they need help?"

"One of them's hurt, that's all."

"How did they get hurt?"

"Tell you what," he sighed, "once you meet them, you can ask all the questions you want. Deal?"

Rose nodded. Picking the book back up, he continued. Before he made it long into the new chapter they'd started, footsteps approached the tent. A familiar head poked in.

"Mind if I join you?" Liam quipped, shuffling into the tent beside Rose. "I see you two started the next chapter without me?" He raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend.

"It's Logan's fault, I told him to wait for you!" Rose objected.

"Is that so?" Liam joked, giving Logan a quick peck on the lips.

"Ew, gross!" Rose exclaimed, prompting a laugh from both men.

* * *

John spread out through the camp, sending people to the center where Riley was making an announcement. One by one, he got people to drop their things and head to the center, where he was standing on top of the bed of a pickup truck. Approaching Gia's tent, he rattled it a bit.

"Hey, Riley wants everyone at the center, he's making an announcement."

Gia poked her head out, apparently having just woken up from a nap. "What's this about?"

"He didn't say."

She nodded, getting out and following him over.

"Alright," Riley loudly said from in front of the small crowd around him, "you're probably aware that things are running low around here. I'm looking for a group of around seven people to come with me into the city to look for anything useful."

Looking around, he saw the hesitance on the others' faces. They all knew the risks of going outside the fences, especially since they'd lost people before on runs like this one. However, he knew how badly they needed food and water.

"I'll go." He said, raising his hand and breaking the silence. Before long, others began to join in. Ignacio. Mariano. Isaac. One by one, the spots started to fill.

* * *

Logan looked to Liam, frowning as Riley made his announcement. He knew how much Rose hated it when either of them left on a run. She was only ten years old, but somehow, she knew there was a chance they wouldn't come back.

"I'm in." He announced, raising his hand.

"What the hell, Logan?" Liam whispered, pulling him aside.

"Am I supposed to just sit here? The others need me. You and I both know we're the best ones equipped for the outside. Hell, most of the others don't even know how to _load_ a gun."

"What about Rose? Doesn't she need you? This isn't a good idea, Logan. I'm serious."

"So am I."

Liam sighed, then raised his hand also.

" _I'm going too_." He said.

"Are you kidding me?" Logan whispered loudly, turning back to him.

"What? I can't risk myself but you can? If you're going, then so am I. We both know I can take care of myself."

"Who's going to watch Rose while we're gone?"

"She can play with Elliana while we're gone, it'll only be a few hours. Hank or Gia can watch her."

"I'm guessing there's no way I can talk you out of this?"

"You guessed correctly." Liam retorted, turning his attention back to Riley.

"We've got enough people for the run," Riley announced, "We'll meet in the morning after breakfast, and head out by noon. We should be back before sundown."

Logan nodded, pushing his worries aside. He had a job to do, just like everyone.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I'm excited to move the story forward, I have very big plans for the next few chapters! I have a good outline of where I'm going from here, and I can't wait to continue writing the awesome characters you all submitted.

However, I also have another announcement. Unfortunately, due to the heavy traffic of submissions I've recieved, I have to let you all know that I'm going to have to start accepting and rejecting some of them. I'm still recieving quite a few all the time, so just know that not all submissions will be accepted. Sorry about this, but it's necessary to keep from overcrowding. You'll know if your character has been accepted or not.

==Character Credits==

Ignacio Moreno / Created by Wolfie McCoy

-Mariano Moreno

John Curlmen / Created by RainGain

Riley Hall / Created by GrabbageTheImmortalChinchilla

Geovanni "Gia" Polanski / Created by thedaffodilqueen

Skylar Ranoss / Created by Me

-Darren Ranoss

-Pfiefer Ranoss

Logan Brooks / Created by tobi-is-an-artist-too

-Liam Kosta

-Rose Brooks

Kwok "Hank" Heng-Lee / Created by motordog


	4. Sinking

**Author's Note:**

Wus poppin my dudes, I'm finally finished with the third chapter! Sorry about the wait, but now that finals and school are over, I have much more time to write. This one was certainly an experience to write. Enjoy!

* * *

Ignacio found himself dragging his finger along the wall, as he traversed the dark hallway. Everything felt so real, even down to the texture of the wall. He couldn't see much but darkness, but he didn't have to. He could recognize this place with his eyes closed-his childhood home. It was both peaceful and terrifying at the same time, all the darkness enveloping him like a blanket as he aimlessly wandered through the halls, finding nothing but more hallways.

Suddenly, something grabbed his foot as he walked. A decayed hand, with sharp nails and gray skin. A biter. He struggled, tried to scream, but nothing came from his mouth but white noise. Slowly, it began to drag him down. He was sinking into the floor, the darkness closing in so that all he could see was the hand dragging him down. He fought, but he only sunk deeper and deeper. Before long, he was enveloped, screaming to no avail. Everything was pitch black. A sound caught his attention-a vague word that he couldn't quite process. Someone was saying something. What was it?

"Hey." The sound became clearer, as he began to stir.

Suddenly, he woke up.

"Hey," Mariano said, "time to wake up. We're leaving on the run in twenty minutes at the latest."

Cio groaned, but sat up in his sleeping bag nonetheless. He didn't feel like getting up-some things don't change, he supposed. Nearly falling back asleep, he forced himself to defy the cold and get dressed. After around five minutes, he was standing by a pickup truck with the others. Riley, Logan, Mariano, Isaac, Karissa and Liam were all there, waiting for him.

"Took you long enough." Mariano quipped.

* * *

Riley found his hair to be rather irritating as he drove in the pickup truck with Liam, Mariano, and Ignacio in the other seats, getting in the way of his eyes. He needed a haircut. It certainly wasn't something he was used to in the military-his thin, dirty brown hair being so lengthy and thick. Unfortunately, there wasn't exactly a hairdresser at camp. It wasn't really something anyone thought about. Oftentimes it seemed that they got less and less organized with every passing day, and everyone knew it. They were holding out, but didn't really know what for anymore.

Doing his best to clear his head, he tried to focus on the road. He didn't have time for these kinds of thoughts, especially given that people relied on him. They were arriving on the city outskirts, preparing to park. They stopped at an abandoned gas station on the outskirts, the two cars parking alongside each other. One by one, they got out and gathered.

"Alright," Riley announced with haste, "you all know the drill-groups of two or three. We go in and out, gather whatever's useful. You all know what we're here for. We have the walkie talkies if need be, we'll meet back here in three hours or so. We play it by ear, get what we need and leave."

With assorted nods from the group, the survivors started gravitating into small groups. Ignacio and Mariano. Logan, Liam and Riley. Karissa and Isaac. After prepping their walkie-talkies and weapons, they set off. Splitting off into the city on foot, they organized their paths to cover as much ground as possible.

* * *

Cio and Mariano split up as they searched through one of the many houses on the block they were clearing, with Cio taking the second floor and Mariano taking the bottom. He enjoyed working with his brother on supply runs-it was just natural for them. In all honesty, he wasn't close with much of the others. He and Riley talked on occasion, and he _interacted_ with people, but he hadn't made any real connections. Mariano was really the only one keeping him sane. However, he was starting to become more and more skeptical that things would go back to the way they were. What did that mean for them, exactly? Would they be hiding in fear in a refugee camp for the rest of their lives?

Suddenly, he snapped back to reality. He had been staring at the same picture on the wall in the upstairs bedroom, lost in thought. It wasn't anything extraordinary, just a photo of an average family. Two parents, two little boys. Reminded him of his own family, quite some time ago.

"Hey," Mariano called out from downstairs, "you found anything yet?"

"Nah," he replied, "let's move on."

* * *

Riley kept his hand close to the hilt of his handgun as he, Logan, and Liam navigated through separate aisles of the supermarket they were searching. The place had already been looted from what he could tell. They would need to start branching out, taking longer drives for supply runs if they wanted to continue finding anything. Unfortunately, it didn't really matter what region they searched in. Supplies were scarcer than ever, especially with the amount of people they had to provide for.

The entire aisle was mostly cleaar, with the exception of a few useless or spoiled items. He was forced to stiffen himself from punching something. Anything. It was so frustrating, scavenging for food like animals, but still coming up short time and time again. The portions of food got smaller every day. And of course, that was his responsibility. The others looked to him to make sure they had enough to eat, and complained to him when they didn't. Maybe not verbally, but he knew how they felt. He never asked for the role, but he still tried his best. He hoped that was worth something.

* * *

Wes found himself smiling absentmindedly, as he watched Elliana and Rose play together. He was glad that Ellie had another girl her age to talk to, despite all they had to worry about. She was smart beyond her years, and had at least an idea of how dire things were. Thus, it was comforting to see her interacting like a normal eight year old. Rose had taught her to play go fish, and they were cheerfully sitting opposite each other on a blanket layed out on a patch of grass, playing with the deck of cards he, Karissa, and Isaac usually played poker with.

While he felt somewhat guilty about not volunteering for the latest supply run, he knew that Ellie was his priority. Plus, Karissa and Isaac were going on his behalf. He worried about them, but he new they could handle themselves. The four of them had been together from the very beginning-he, Ellie, Karissa, and Isaac had known each other long before everything went to hell. They rarely interacted much with the others at camp, not that it was intentional. Their little group had become somewhat of a family. It seemed as if the entire camp was made up of much smaller groups that only stayed together because they didn't feel safe otherwise. He and Isaac had discussed leaving the camp before, maybe finding a place for the four of them to live themselves, but plans never made it very far. Whether they admitted it or not, they weren't willing to leave the safety of the camp. Maybe the government would solve things after all. It was difficult to look at Ellie and not be optimistic.

"Hey," he said, walking up to the two of them, "you girls mind if I join you?"

* * *

"Anything useful?" Logan asked, as he, Riley, and Liam met up at the check out section of the large crocery store they'd finished searching.

"Not really," Riley answered, "this place's been looted from head to toe."

"Found a box of protein bars," Liam added, "quite the five star banquet."

"We should move on." Riley suggested, prompting a nod from the other two.

With that, Logan led the way to the exit, the other two trailing behind. However, before he pushed open the sliding glass door, he stopped short.

"We got a problem." He said, pointing out to the street. Liam and Riley caught up to him, pausing as well. The streets were far more densely covered with rippers than before, at least twenty of them neandering just outside the doors.

"This complicates things," Liam noted, "we should warn the others. If a horde of them is passing through, we might need to wait it out. We can't risk trying to take that many of them out with firearms and accidentally attract every walking corpse in the damn city."

"So we just sit here until they pass us by?" Logan asked.

"Maybe not, if we're fast enough we can get past them and continue on. We're faster than them."

"I'm not sure about that, we don't know how many of them are out there." Riley objected.

"We don't have time to wait, I say we go for it. As long as we move fast enough, we'll get past them with no problem. You guys with me or not?" Liam said.

After a brief look at the other, both Logan and Riley nodded.

"On three..." Liam said, waiting for the opportune time. "One, two...three!"

With that, the three survivors bolted out the door. Logan followed behind his boyfriend as the three of them manuevered around the biters in front of the store. They bolted to the right, heading down the street towards a bend. The rippers followed, stumbling towards them. Each of them managed to stay ahead, compactly moving down the street in just short of a sprint. However, when they rounded the corner they stopped short.

"Shit." Riley said.

There were even more biters waiting around the corner for them, conglomerated into a large group of at least twenty. They'd miscalculated how many rippers were out in the streets. The group passing tthrough was larger than they thought.

"We can't run through a group that size," Riley exclaimed, pulling out his machete, "we're gonna need to fight! Don't fire your guns unless you absolutely have to, we don't want to attract any more of them."

Logan pulled out the baseball bat he kept tucked into his backpack, charging forward. Swinging at the closest biter, he knocked it to the floor head-first with a hard crack on the side of its head. Riley and Liam came up beside him, slashing biters down. Inch by inch, they were forced backwards by the wall of approaching corpses. The others behind them quickly began to catch up, sandwiching them between the two hordes.

"There's too many!" Liam exclaimed, before being grabbed from behind by one of the biters behind him. Logan turned to him, but he was too far to get to in time. Panicking, he pulled out his gun and fired. The first shot hit it in the shoulder, sending it backwards before he finished it off with another shot.

"This way!" Riley yelled over the sound of the biters moaning as they began to close in on the survivors, plowing his way past several biters towards a house. Logan followed suit, Liam trailing just behind. Logan lost sight of his boyfriend as he bolted to the porch of the house, stopping only so that Riley could smash in the window and allow them to get inside. He practically jumped inside. After a few moments, Liam joined them.

"Keep moving," Riley ordered, heading to the back door of the house, "we can get on top of the neighborhood walls and use them to cut around the biters!"

Escaping through the back door of the house, they each individually climbed atop the neighborhood walls, traversing their way across several backyards before reaching a point when they could hop back down into the street. Jumping down, the three survivors found themselves breathless in the middle of the street, panting heavily.

"We..." Logan said in between breaths, "we should probably alert the others to meet up. I think it's time we all left. Liam, you have the walkie-talkie, right?"

Liam didn't respond, looking blankly at the ground.

"Liam? You okay?" Logan called again, tapping him on the shoulder. Liam raised his eyes to meet his.

"Logan, I-...um," Liam stuttered, lifting up his arm into view. Just above his wrist was a large wound, bleeding profusely.

 _A bite._

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, I have a lot in store coming up soon! Chapter four should be up soon. Reviews are _so_ incredibly helpful and motivating, whether good or bad, and they help me stay consistent. They also don't take very long to write. Leave one if you can!

p.s. I was so excited to post this chapter that I only checked it for errors once, so let me know if you catch anything!

==Character Credits==

Ignacio Moreno / Created by Wolfie McCoy

-Mariano Moreno

Riley Hall / Created by GrabbageTheImmortalChinchilla

Logan Brooks / Created by tobi-is-an-artist-too

-Liam Kosta

-Rose Brooks

Wesley Beiner / Created by RubyLeo

-Elliana Beiner

-Isaac

-Karissa


End file.
